From 27 October to 4 November, Ciett President Annemarie Muntz is visiting Brazil and Argentina. In a trip through both countries, she will meet with industry leaders as well as with other important stakeholders such as policy makers and trade unions. Since her election as Ciett President in May 2014, Muntz has already visited China, India and now Brazil, underlining the importance of the so called BRICS countries for the employment & recruitment industry.

During her visit, Muntz will be promoting appropriate regulation for the employment & recruitment industry in Brazil and Argentina. This means regulation that promotes workers’ rights, while also allowing employment & recruitment agencies to conduct their business and play their important role on the labour market.

Another important aspect of the visit will be supporting the national federations of both countries (Sindeprestem & FAETT) in their work, and help them align with the Ciett priorities. In Brazil, a designated taskforce was established by Ciett to strengthen the advocacy for reaching out an updated, appropriate regulation on private employment services in order to create jobs.

In Argentina, the Ciett President is speaking at the IV Latin America and the Caribbean Global Compact Business Forum. She is participating in a panel on labour conditions, discussing supply chains and decent work across all businesses including multinationals and SME’s. Joining her at the forum are a number of influential organisations including the ILO, FEMSA LatAm, Group Argos, the Future Institute of Denmark, French Employers’organisation MEDEF, EEB and Ecopetrol. Alvaro Navas, ex-president of the Agro bank of Colombia will be moderating the discussion.

Annemarie Muntz commented: “Regulation in Latin America Is terribly outdated, and still puts numerous restrictions on our industry. Temporary Agency work is systematically discriminated vis a vis other forms of flexible labour such as fixed term contracts. We see for example that agency work can be used only for non-core activities (peaks in demand or to replace sick workers) and for a limited term only. In that way the employment & recruitment industry cannot contribute to a better functioning labour market. Given the opportunity, our industry can contribute greatly to decreasing inequality in these countries by offering young people a stepping stone in the labour market. Appropriate legislation is an important prerequisite to allow our industry to provide decent work for numerous people.”

“Today, Europe, the USA and Japan still account for 82% of the global employment & recruitment market, but the BRICS countries are essential to the future development of the industry, and a development of our industry in these countries is essential for improving the functioning of the labour market and the expansion of decent work”.

Denis Pennel, Ciett Managing Director, commented: “We see a new world of work emerging, at an ever-increasing pace, and we must embrace this change. The employment & recruitment industry has a crucial role to play for both companies and people and there is plenty of research to prove the positive impact of our industry on the labour market and throughout the economy. In Latin America, as all across the globe, we are facing less a jobs crisis and more a workforce revolution. Work is no longer a place to go but a thing to do and the workforce has never been so diverse. Ciett helps the industry have a stronger voice and our message of & lsquo;a person for every job, a job for every person’ will still resonate in the future of work.”